Oh. my. goodness. Where in the world do I begin with this dish? How do I possibly convey how unbelievably delicious it was? Not just delicious, but delllliiiiiciousssss. Let that word linger and settle. Imagine you're savoring the perfect bite of moist pork, flavorful crust, rich sauce, and sweet and spicy apple slices. Go ahead. Close your eyes and let it happen. Whatever you're imagining, I promise this dish will live up to it.
I made this after long and stressful week. I was finally on fall break and wanted to spend some serious time in the kitchen. But here's the thing--this dish is actually easy. It takes a fair amount of cooking time and the pork has to be prepped the night before, but neither of those things bother me, especially for a dish that would be for a special occasion meal. I served it with apple cidercars, roasted sweet potatoes, a simple salad with dried cranberries, the shallots from the port sauce and maple vinaigrette, and pumpkin creme brulee for dessert. The meal would be fantastic for a fall dinner party or even Thanksgiving, Christmas, or New Year's Eve.
I did make one adjustment to the recipe because I didn't have port on hand. Instead, I used one cup pomegranate juice, one cup beef broth, and one cup chicken broth and followed the instructions from there. It worked beautifully.
Because today is the day I get to announce the winner of the year's subscription to Bon Appetit magazine, I wanted to be sure to feature one of their recipes. This one was featured in the April 1999 issue, but I found it on Bon Appetit's online companion, epicurious. So, congratulations Heather! I hope you'll enjoy your subscription and I hope to see some of the recipes on your blog!
Roast Pork with Port Jus and Chipotle-Glazed Apples
adapted from epicurious
Ingredients:
For the pork:
2 TBSP ground cumin
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. ground black pepper
2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 c. (packed) plus 1 tablespoon golden brown sugar
1 3-lb. boneless center-cut pork rib roast
For the sauce:
3 c. ruby Port
1/4 c. chopped shallots
1 3/4 c. beef stock or canned beef broth
1 3/4 c. chicken stock or canned low-salt chicken broth
1 fresh thyme sprig
3 TBSP chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
For the apples:
1/2 c. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
4 medium crisp red apples, peeled, cored, sliced (I used honeycrisp)
4 TBSP vegetable oil
4 tsp. minced canned chipotle chilies
Directions:
1. Mix cumin, salt, pepper, chili powder and 1/2 cup brown sugar in small
bowl. Rub spice mixture over pork. Place in large glass baking dish.
Cover and refrigerate overnight.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Transfer pork to large roasting pan. Reserve juices in glass dish. Roast pork until thermometer inserted into center registers 150 degrees F, about 1 hour 20 minutes, basting with reserved juices from glass dish every 30 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, combine port, shallots and remaining brown sugar in heavy medium saucepan. Boil until syrupy, about 30 minutes. Add both stocks and thyme. Boil until reduced to 1 1/4 cups, another 40-45 minutes. Strain sauce and return to saucepan. Mix any pan drippings from pork into sauce (do not scrape roasting pan). Add butter and whisk until melted. Season with salt and pepper.
4. While pork and sauce are cooking, mix sugar and cinnamon together in a medium bowl and toss apples to coat. Heat 1 TBSP oil with 1 tsp. chipotle chilies in heavy medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1/4 coated apple slices. Cook until coating caramelizes and apple slices are heated through, turning often, about 4 minutes. Transfer apple slices to a baking sheet lined with wax paper, foil, or a Silpat. Using paper towels, wipe skillet clean. Repeat with remaining apple slices, cinnamon-sugar mixture, oil and chipotle chilies in three more batches, wiping skillet clean between each batch.
5. Once pork has reached temperature, remove from oven. Tent with foil and allow to rest 10 minutes.
6. Cut pork into 1/4-in. thick slices. Divide among 6 plates. Spoon chipotle-glazed apples alongside, dividing equally. Spoon port sauce over and around pork.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Transfer pork to large roasting pan. Reserve juices in glass dish. Roast pork until thermometer inserted into center registers 150 degrees F, about 1 hour 20 minutes, basting with reserved juices from glass dish every 30 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, combine port, shallots and remaining brown sugar in heavy medium saucepan. Boil until syrupy, about 30 minutes. Add both stocks and thyme. Boil until reduced to 1 1/4 cups, another 40-45 minutes. Strain sauce and return to saucepan. Mix any pan drippings from pork into sauce (do not scrape roasting pan). Add butter and whisk until melted. Season with salt and pepper.
4. While pork and sauce are cooking, mix sugar and cinnamon together in a medium bowl and toss apples to coat. Heat 1 TBSP oil with 1 tsp. chipotle chilies in heavy medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1/4 coated apple slices. Cook until coating caramelizes and apple slices are heated through, turning often, about 4 minutes. Transfer apple slices to a baking sheet lined with wax paper, foil, or a Silpat. Using paper towels, wipe skillet clean. Repeat with remaining apple slices, cinnamon-sugar mixture, oil and chipotle chilies in three more batches, wiping skillet clean between each batch.
5. Once pork has reached temperature, remove from oven. Tent with foil and allow to rest 10 minutes.
6. Cut pork into 1/4-in. thick slices. Divide among 6 plates. Spoon chipotle-glazed apples alongside, dividing equally. Spoon port sauce over and around pork.